Tricycle

Waiting out the Dalai Lama may be a big mistake for China. Dealing with him now may be easier than what may follow in his wake. Lodi Gyari, the Dalai Lama's representative in Washington, writes this in the South China Morning Post, quoted yesterday in a blog post by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof:
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"China provides a free environment for architects. We're not impeded by the complicated regional planning and bureaucratic red tape. Most importantly, China has great craftsmen who can help me visualize my architectural concepts."
That's how American architect David Greenberg sees it, whose work for the past 12 years in China has been heavily influenced by his Zen practice. Greenberg was introduced to Zen in Hawaii by a Chinese master, who also suggested he learn the Tao. A recent work of Greenberg's is a treehouse "eco resort," overlooking the South China Sea, at the Nanshan Buddhist Culture Zone, Sanya, Hainan province.
Greenberg is no fan of the Western-style buildings springing up across Chinese cities like mushrooms. As he tells xinhuanet.com:
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According to the Moscow Times, Kalmykia President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is ready to step down. The colorful leader of the Russian Federation's only Buddhist republic appeared in a post here earlier this year, when chess great Anatoly Karpov made it known that he'd like Ilyumzhinov’s position as president of the International Chess Federation when the latter's mandate expires this month. Ilyumzhinov is happy to step down from the presidency of the republic, or at least he's happy to humor President Medvedev, whose policy of rotating regional leadership he cites as his reason for calling it quits.
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Bhutanese-born Buddhist teacher Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, director of The Cup (1999) and Travellers and Magicians (2003), has another film in the works, or at least he's thinking about one. For now, it's at "the concept level." What's the next one going to be about? He tells bernama.com, the Malaysian National News Agency, that this one will be about dance:
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In an August 26 post, I noted 5 recent comments from Thich Nhat Hanh on the occasion of his visit to the UK. One of the quotes refers to "the disease of capitalism" (Thay's words), and I thought perhaps some would object. No one did. One, did, however, find that phrase particularly felicitous. Seedoubleyou writes:
Thay’s messages are fantastic, particularly in relation to the poison of capitalism. I remain hopeful that his words stretch beyond Buddhist circles and to the ears that need to hear.
In the Guardian today, the question is posed:
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From novice Tendai priest Innen Parchelo, in the Ottawa Citizen's "Ask the Religion Experts":
Q: What is the relation between religious laws and state law?
A: There is no parallel between the teaching of the Buddha and the traditions of the Old or New Testaments or the Koran as "God's Law." Dharma declares "the way things are," not a statement of rules or an invocation to behave in some particular way. ...
Buddhists, then, are encouraged to relate to national or local systems of legal structures in a combination of good citizenship and spiritual conscience. We must evaluate any conflict between our obligations as good citizens and good Buddhists and make "in the moment" decisions about our actions.
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